


Caught Out

by alex_claire



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Exhibitionism, Kink Discovery, Kink Exploration, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 12:22:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2388083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alex_claire/pseuds/alex_claire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So where are we going?”</p><p>Louis blinked up at him as innocently as he could, which meant not at all. Liam just smiled and shook his head.</p><p>“You have no idea where you’re going, do you?”</p><p>“Not a clue,” Louis said.</p><p> </p><p>A Canon AU in which Liam discovers that he likes Louis touching him where anyone could potentially catch them. </p><p>Set during the European leg of the Where We Are tour</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught Out

**Author's Note:**

> This is a canon AU where the schedule of the Where We Are tour is correct, but some events and details are wrong and Eleanor and Louis and Sophia and Liam are not together (sorry ladies). This is a kink discovery and exploration fic and is set during the European leg of the Where We Are tour. 
> 
> A massive thank you to Theotherlindsay, Randominitea and RainbowChelita for the beta and Abandofbros and Broofriends for their wonderful tags regarding Lilo exhibitionist fic.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the real people that these characters are based on.

“Come back here you two!”

Liam looked at Louis, knowing that there was no way that Louis was going to turn around. Louis ducked around the corner, knowing that Liam would follow him. He let out an exasperated sigh, wondering where Louis was taking him on his latest adventure.

They were walking away from the dressing room and further into the labyrinth like layout of the backstage area, the sandstone walls seemingly swallowing them. Beyond the wall that he was resting against, Liam could hear hurried footsteps. He turned to Louis.

“They’re gonna find us,” he said.

“Not if you don’t shut up,” Louis replied, his fingers curling around his waist, his fingernails digging in. 

The footsteps stopped and Liam held his breath as Paddy walked straight past them. Fortunately he was facing in the wrong direction to see him and Louis flattened against the wall, their hands slapped across each other’s faces to stop the other from giggling and giving them away. Louis made a run for it down the corridor and Liam jogged to catch up to him. 

“So where are we going?”

Louis blinked up at him as innocently as he could, which meant not at all. Liam just smiled and shook his head.

“You have no idea where you’re going, do you?”

“Not a clue,” Louis said.

Louis met his gaze and they both burst out laughing. Once they had stopped, Liam looked around, finally noticing that they weren’t that far from where they had started.

“Omigod. We’ve just gone around in a circle Lou,” he said as he leaned back against the wall and slumped down to sit on the floor.

“We really are pretty crap at this,” Louis replied, sitting down next to him.

“Yeah, but it was still fun Lou. We haven’t done a reece in ages.”

“Glad to have been your entertainment for the evening,” Louis drawled, his voice dripping in the perfect balance of sincerity and sarcasm.

Liam was warm from running, his thin shirt damp with sweat and annoyingly sticking to his back. He wasn’t out of breath but his limbs were comfortably loose, their impromptu dash just the thing he needed before the concert.

“Here you are,” Paddy’s voice echoed down the hallway. Liam got to his feet and Louis groaned.

“Come on, you guys had better get ready,” Paddy said as he approached them. Liam offered his hand to Louis and hauled him to his feet. 

“We are ready. We’ve been ready for ages. I’d be more worried about the others really; you know how Zayn gets about his hair.”

Liam smiled as Louis would apparently never let that joke die down. 

Paddy just huffed and Liam felt like he was back in school and he’d just been caught doing something naughty as Paddy lead them back towards the dressing room.

*

As they walked off stage Louis sidled up next to Liam.

“Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine. You wanna write tonight?” 

Liam was just glad that he had fallen towards the end of the night. It’d been embarrassing falling like that. Zayn was at his side in a second while the others had just stood there, looking concerned. Even though Liam noticed that Louis had laughed at him, his concern flashing through his eyes when he glanced over at him, Liam had reassured him with a smile. Louis always made it look like he wasn’t bothered when one of them slipped up, whether it be a lyric or literally, but he always showed his compassion through his eyes in a restrained sort of way.

“Yeah mate. Meet you in your room?”

“Okay,” Liam said as he headed for the shower.

*

Once they were all freshly showered, they ambled onto the bus and made their way to the hotel. Liam was sitting in the small lounge area with Niall, who was chatting animatedly with Harry.

“I can’t believe you called Liam a prawn!” 

Liam rolled his eyes. “Seriously, that was the best you could come up with Haz?”

Liam had taken charge during the Instagram questions otherwise they would have been there all night and naturally Louis had called him out on it.

“Hey, you were the one going on about the flavours,” Harry said, “Lou was right to call you out on that.”

“Ha!” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Liam said, eyeing Louis smirking smugly at him. 

The bus parked and they were herded into the reception area. Paul gave them their respective room keys and Liam said goodnight to the boys and made for the elevator, Louis close on his heels. As soon as he opened the door, Louis made a beeline for the bed. He took his shoes off and bounced on it a couple of times before lying out starfished.

“Hey, you’re taking up the whole bed,” Liam complained as he kicked his shoes and socks off and climbed under the bed covers.

“Deal with it Payno.” 

Louis crawled underneath the duvet and made himself comfortable and turned on the television.

“I thought we were gonna write?”

“Cuddle first,” Louis grinned, pinching his hip. Liam lifted his arm and let Louis curl into his side. Liam ruffled his hair and Louis sighed as he turned up the volume on the movie.

“This is nice,” Liam murmured against his temple, “I’ve missed this.”

Louis pinched his nipple and Liam winced.

“Just watch the movie.”

Louis fell asleep almost instantly; his slow, heavy breathing tickling Liam’s shoulder. Liam looked down at him and his stomach fluttered at seeing Louis sleeping peacefully, his eyelashes fanning across his cheekbones.

Liam stared for a minute, just taking in the sight of Louis sleeping. Louis was blithely unaware of the things Liam’s insides were doing and just as well because Liam did not need this. Not again. He reached over to turn the lights off and made a note to himself to talk to Zayn the next day.

*

Liam woke to wetness. Which was not all that strange because he had been dreaming about falling over the edge of a waterfall. He was floating on his back behind the curtain of water, the tiny droplets landing on his face and he felt at peace.

Until he wasn’t.

Liam snapped his eyes open to Louis standing over him with a grin and a wet flannel in his hand, dripping onto his face. He was not under a waterfall but still in bed and being rudely woken up.

Liam grunted, grabbed hold of Louis’ wrist and yanked hard, hauling him onto the bed and subsequently on top of him.

“Hello to you too,” Louis said, trying to wiggle out of Liam’s strong hold. With the way Louis was lying across Liam, his crotch rubbed against his stomach and that was way too close to his cock for Liam’s liking, especially because he was always half hard in the mornings.

“Can’t you go annoy someone else?” Liam grumbled.

“No one else is up yet.”

Liam was. Well, a part of him was and he didn’t want to draw any attention to it, especially in front of Louis. If Louis figured out that it only happened around him, Liam would be mortified. He was not ready for that discussion yet. He really needed to talk to Zayn. 

“Alright, you’ve woken me up. Now go get the rest of your minions.”

Louis stood up and chucked the flannel at his face.

“At least you know,” he said as he left the room. Liam sighed in relief and climbed out of bed, heading for the shower.

*

“It’s happening again Zee,” Liam said, apropos of nothing. He knew Zayn would know what he was talking about.

“What happened?”

Liam narrowed his eyes at him.

“You know what.”

Zayn smiled sympathetically and dragged him down onto the couch. They were in the dressing room, getting ready for the concert and Liam had to talk to someone about this before it got out of hand and he did something stupid. He really didn’t want to mess up what he and Louis had worked so hard to achieve. There was too much at stake. He didn’t want to mess up the equilibrium and ruin the band. 

“What was it this time?”

Liam looked down at his hands, twisting his fingers nervously. His fingers looked like the inside of his brain at the moment, all jumbled and confused, not knowing where one thought started and another ended. The only thing that was clear amongst the haze was that the subject was the same person. 

“He…he…fell asleep on me,” Liam said.

Zayn chuckled. “That’s it?”

Liam sighed. “No. It’s just…he asks if I want to write but every time, we just end up falling asleep together.”

“How romantic. All wrapped up in each other’s arms, legs tangled and all you have to do is lean in and-”

Liam slapped his hand over Zayn’s mouth to stop him from finishing that sentence.

“Not helping mate.”

Zayn almost looked apologetic.

“Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “…but have you ever tried talking to him about how you feel?”

“I can’t,” Liam tried to explain, “He’s still trying to get over El.”

Louis and Eleanor had broken up about three months ago but he seemed like he was still nursing his broken heart and the last thing Liam wanted was to burden him with his own confused feelings. Louis made it seem like he was okay but Liam could still see the sadness in his eyes. He didn’t say it to Zayn but he was also trying to move on from Sophia. Liam had never fully disclosed the reason why he and Sophia had broken up to Louis. Louis hadn’t asked and Liam never told. 

“Li, sometimes things just don’t work out,” Zayn said, “They tried but it obviously wasn’t enough. Louis’s going to move on and he’s got you for when he’s ready.”

Liam smiled. “Thanks Zee. I just really wish I could tell him, you know?”

“I know. When the time comes, you’ll profess your undying love for Louis and Louis’s just gonna say what took you so long you bloody idiot and pinch your nipple or whatever it is that you two do. Personally I’ve never understood your weirdass foreplay.”

Liam punched him lightly. “It’s not flirting, we’re just messing around. It’s fun.”

Zayn grinned. “Uh huh. It’s flirting. One day you’ll see it my way.”

Zayn walked over to where Lou was finished with Harry’s hair and sat down, ready to be coiffed to perfection. Not that he needed anything to look perfect. Zayn was still one of the most beautiful people Liam had ever met. Well, there was that other person. But Liam was not going to touch that thought with a ten foot pole.

Liam sighed and got on the floor and did some push-ups, revving himself up for the show.

*

“That was awesome,” Niall said on the way back to the hotel.

“Only because everyone was screaming Mullingar every five seconds,” Louis said, rolling his eyes at Liam and Liam unsuccessfully stifled a laugh.

“Whatever. It was still better than Harry’s jokes. I swear to God Haz, what the hell kind of a knock knock joke was that?”

“Hey,” Harry drawled.

Niall placated him though, wrapping his arm around him and Liam frowned slightly. If Zayn said that what he and Louis did was flirting, then what was it exactly that Harry and Niall did? It wasn’t any different. The only explanation Liam could come up with was that Zayn knew he had feelings for Louis, whereas neither Harry nor Niall had feelings for the other. Well, that Liam was aware of. He didn’t know what went on in their minds. 

“You wanna play CoD?” Louis asked him as they pulled up to the hotel. They stumbled out of the bus and headed for the elevator. Liam’s stomach twisted at the memory of last night. He knew he should say no but when had he ever said no to Louis? It was impossible to say no to him.

“Sure.”

*

“I whooped your ass Payno!”

“You cheated,” Liam grumbled.

“How the hell do you cheat at CoD?”

Liam shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well then you can’t say that I cheated,” Louis said as he stripped his shirt and crawled under the duvet, spreading his arms out. Liam stared at him, his gaze dropping to his bare chest and his fingers twitched with how badly he wanted to touch Louis. How much he wanted Louis’ permission to touch him. He bet Louis made the best sounds when he came and suddenly Liam had to think of the prime minister in speedos to stop his blood from travelling south. 

Liam climbed into the bed and turned out the light. He slid over to Louis and into his arms and Liam breathed him in deeply. He felt Louis’ arms tense for a millisecond before they relaxed and Liam sighed contentedly. He fought the urge to reach up and tuck Louis’ hair behind his ear and wow, he was really gone for him. Liam ignored the flickers of sparks he could feel from where he was touching Louis’ bare skin and tried to fall asleep.

*

“Come with me Li,” Louis said to him the next day. Liam was leaning against the table in the corner of their dressing room and eating a sandwich. He finished his bite and brushed his hands on his jeans. 

“Where are we going today, o wise one?” 

“Somewhere very mysterious and exotic.”

“Ooh sounds interesting. Lead on.”

Louis returned his smile and Liam’s stomach swooped at the way Louis was looking at him. He really wished his stomach would stop doing that and give him a break. 

Louis led him out the door and to the left, like the last time. Except when they came to the T-junction, Louis turned right and led them down the corridor, weaving around the numerous people milling around. Louis suddenly ducked around the corner and stopped abruptly. 

“This is our stop.”

“There’s nothing here.”

“Exactly.”

It was just far away enough for them that there was no one around, but close enough that they would hear if someone needed them. It was perfect and Liam had to suddenly take a deep breath at how much he appreciated Louis. It was a space to catch his breath and a moment in time that was just theirs to steal in the tumultuous journey that they had been on since the band’s inception.

“Thanks Lou,” Liam said.

Louis turned to face him. “You’re welcome.”

Louis’ head suddenly jerked to the side and Liam watched him, confused for a moment.

“What is it?”

Liam had barely enough time to think before Louis grabbed his hand and dragged him around the corner, found a janitor’s cupboard and shoved him in. Louis stepped in behind him and shut the door, plunging them into darkness.

“Louis what-”

“Shhh,” Louis whispered, placing his hand over Liam’s mouth.

Liam had no idea what was going on until he heard footsteps go past them. He could vaguely make out Louis’ features as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

“I think they’re gone,” Louis said but he didn’t remove his hand.

Louis was standing really close to him and Liam could feel the heat from his breath on his face and without his permission his eyes settled on his mouth. Louis’s lips parted and his eyes flickered down and Liam felt the warmth disappear as Louis removed his hand slowly. 

Liam’s heart was hammering in his chest and he was using every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from lunging at Louis. His mouth looked soft and inviting and Liam bit down on his bottom lip to stop from leaning forward and the last thing Liam heard was Louis muttering _“Shit…”_ before Louis pressed his lips to his.

Liam’s mind went fuzzy as he tried to register that Louis was kissing him. _Louis_. Was kissing _him_. His mind was swimming with thoughts of _we shouldn’t be doing this_ but his mouth seemed to be overriding his brain and he couldn’t stop. He tilted his head to slot their mouths together and trailed his tongue along Louis’ bottom lip and Louis opened up to him, allowing him to deepen their kiss. 

Suddenly there was a knock outside and they both jumped but managed not to make a sound. Liam could hear someone moving around in the hallway and his pulse quickened at the thought that someone was about to open the door and catch them kissing. 

“You okay?” Louis whispered, barely audible.

“Yeah,” Liam replied, pressing his body to Louis’ and kissing him again. Louis whimpered lowly, his hands winding around Liam’s neck.

Liam was hard in his jeans and he could feel Louis’ cock swelling against his thigh. Liam thought it was a bit odd that they were both hard now, after someone almost caught them, rather than before when they were kissing more thoroughly, but he let the thought disappear because he had Louis in his arms and he had just kissed him.

“Come on, we should head back,” Liam said, removing his hands from him.

“Right,” Louis said, sounding disappointed. Liam opened the door and was temporarily blinded by the fluorescent lights.

“Jesus,” Liam heard Louis say behind him. Liam grabbed his hand, kissed his knuckles and directed them back to the dressing room.

*

“Do…um…do you want to write?” Louis asked him later when they were back at the hotel after the concert. They were standing outside Liam’s room and Louis was shifting his weight and wringing his hands. 

“I don’t really want to write, but I think you should still come in so we can talk.”

Liam opened his door and Louis shuffled in behind him. He had been unusually subdued on the bus. He was fine earlier when they were on stage, going a whole round of banter with Liam, his arm draped around his shoulders. 

It was strange how fast the air around them had exponentially changed within a couple of hours; the atmosphere was suddenly charged and the shift was imperceptible to everyone except the other boys. None of them had said anything, but their silence spoke volumes. Their complete non-reactions to how Liam and Louis had moved around the entire night, checking in on each other almost after every song was testament to how much Liam loved his boys. 

Louis walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes avoiding Liam as he removed his shoes and socks. Liam shuffled over to stand in front of him but Louis didn’t look up.

“Look at me Louis,” he pleaded.

Louis turned his head to the wall. “I can’t.”

“Then why are you here?”

That made Louis look up at him.

“Because you asked me to,” he said, as if it was plain as day. 

Liam sighed and sat down next to him.

“So what was with the kissing earlier?” Liam asked. He needed to know where he stood with Louis because the line that he had drawn between them was quickly starting to become blurry. 

“I’m not sure,” he said. He was picking at his cuticles and Liam reached out to twine their fingers together. 

“It’ll be okay Lou. What’s a little snogging between friends hey?” Liam’s stomach clenched as he tried to make light of the situation. He was fairly sure he could keep his feelings at bay for a bit longer. He’d be doing it for a while now, what were a couple more months.

Louis smiled at him. “Thanks Li.”

“You’re welcome. Now, don’t hog the duvet this time. I really don’t like waking up freezing my balls off.”

Louis laughed and crawled under the blankets and this time it was Liam holding out his arms to Louis. Liam raked his fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead before drifting off to sleep.

*

Liam woke to Louis sprawled on top of him and his warm breath against his neck. Louis had always been a snuggler and Liam had always appreciated it except for now, because his weight was on Liam and he was rising to the occasion. _Crap_. Liam tried to remain calm and decided to just wake him up, praying that Louis would ignore it and not say anything.

Liam swiped his thumb across his cheekbone. “Louis.”

Louis barely moved. Liam tried again.

“Louis, wake up.”

Louis’ eyelashes fluttered and he opened his eyes. “What time is it?”

Liam looked over at the clock “Five am.”

Louis scrunched up his nose and buried his face in closer to Liam.

“Too early,” he mumbled, “Go back to sleep.”

Liam chuckled and brushed Louis’ fringe to the side. “We have to get up Lou. Bus call at six.”

Louis groaned and shifted and Liam had never wanted to sink into the mattress and disappear more than at that very moment. Louis stilled on top of him, a slow grin appearing.

“Seems like someone’s up already.”

Liam shoved at his shoulder. “Shut up.”

“Oh no, I…uh…I don’t mind.”

Louis rolled his hips slightly and Liam startled as he felt Louis’ cock press against him and he couldn’t help the moan from slipping out of his mouth.

“Lou,” he warned.

“It’s fine Li,” Louis whispered. “Just—just let me do this.”

Liam whimpered and dug his fingers into Louis’ hips as he pressed them together again. Liam hadn’t had anyone do this to him in a long time and his cock swelled, straining against his pants as Louis continued rocking his hips down. He wouldn’t last very long if Louis kept this up, the pressure was just right and Louis’ warm breath was tickling his neck. Louis started sucking a bruise into the hollow of his throat as he rolled his hips faster and Liam threaded his hands into his hair and pulled him off.

“The concert…” he tried to explain as Louis rocked his dick against Liam’s. Liam leaned up and brushed a kiss against his lips and he could feel his orgasm getting closer.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“You boys better be awake,” Paul’s voice filtered through. 

Liam’s eyes were wide and he looked at Louis, panicked. A shiver ran down his spine at what they were doing and the fact that someone was just beyond the wall and could walk in on them.

“We’re…up,” Liam said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Louis smiled at him, his eyes shining with laughter at the innuendo.

Liam rolled his eyes but it was more from the pleasure and his stomach muscles suddenly tensed as he came, wet and sticky in his pants. His back arched and he kissed Louis to try and muffle his groans and that seemed to do it for Louis, who came with a final thrust.

Louis rolled off him and tried to catch his breath. Liam looked over to see his forehead damp and a brilliant flush down his torso. Louis glanced down at himself and groaned.

“My pants are wet,” he complained.

“And whose fault is that?” Liam couldn’t help smiling.

Louis glowered at him. “Yours.”

“Been there, done that,” Liam said. Louis threw his toothbrush at his head.

*

The stage was massive and the crowd was chanting for Niall every five minutes. Liam grinned out to the crowd, absolutely loving every minute of it. Niall basked in the glory, his arms spread wide and smiling ear to ear and Liam felt his chest swell at how proud he was of Niall and his boys. 

For some reason he was feeling restless but he wasn’t anxious. It was more pent up energy that he didn’t know what to do with other than take it out on his tank, clutching the hem and twisting it this way and that. He even pulled his tank wide enough to flash Louis his nipples and Liam watched as Louis’ eyes glazed over. Liam couldn’t help it and subconsciously fidgeted with his tank yet again.

All it took was one touch. It was just after they had thanked their band. Liam had been standing by one of the platforms when it happened. He felt something hard press into his back and he didn’t need to look around to know that Louis was pressing his microphone onto his spine. Liam instantly stilled, not sure whether Louis was just playing one of his games or if it was an attempt to calm him down, but whatever it was, it worked. His breathing slowed and he wondered what Louis was going to do next.

Louis just walked over to stand next to Zayn while he sang to the crowd and Liam’s fingertips tingled, wanting to touch Louis. He had been replaying what had happened this morning over and over in his mind, trying to make sense of it all. Liam wanted to be here for Louis during this difficult time for him and if this was the way Louis wanted to be comforted, then Liam would give him this. He would give Louis anything he wanted and Liam suddenly stopped in his tracks at that thought. _Anything?_ His mind asked his conscience and his brain responded immediately with a resounding _yes._

This wasn’t the time to get into this. Liam shook his head to try and rid himself of the thoughts swirling through his brain. He looked up and caught Louis smirking at him and Liam instantly didn’t trust that look. That look meant that Louis was about to hurt Liam merely for his own pleasure. Louis didn’t disappoint. He walked over, rather slinked over like a predator stalking its prey, and sidled up to him. He slung his arm around Liam’s waist and Liam knew what was coming.

Louis pinched his waist then quick as lightning, leaned up and pinched his nipple. Hard. Liam flinched but didn’t back away from him. He kind of wanted Louis to do it again. He sucked in a breath and his chest felt heavy at the flush of arousal washing over him from Louis touching him here, right in front of the crowd where everyone could see their every move and he suddenly wanted Louis to touch him like he had this morning. 

Except they were on stage and they would get arrested for public indecency if that happened. Liam suddenly had an unnerving realisation. He was getting turned on by people watching Louis touch him. His eyes went wide and he had to do something. He decided to test his theory. He turned to see Louis watching him from the far side of the stage and Liam stuck out his tongue and flashed his nipples again, this time on purpose. He watched as Louis’ eyes darkened and Liam thought his knees would buckle at the sight. Actually that wouldn’t be too bad. He wanted to get on his knees for Louis.

Liam swallowed the lump that was in his throat and pushed the thought to the back of his mind and soldiered on, successfully making it though the concert in one piece.

*

Once they had descended the stairs and were backstage, Louis grabbed Liam by the wrist and took off down the hallway. Liam was having a sense of déjà vu. The last time this happened, they had kissed. Louis dragged him away from the mass of people crowding the corridor and turned right, then left and right again before he stopped suddenly. They were at a dead end, surrounded by sound equipment and empty crates. 

Louis turned abruptly and pushed Liam against the wall, behind the equipment, partially hiding them from anyone who might be walking past.

“Louis what-” Liam started to ask, but didn’t get to finish as Louis leaned in and kissed him. Liam’s hands immediately went to Louis’ hips to pull him in, pressing their bodies together. He reached down to squeeze his bum and Louis moaned into his mouth. 

Louis pulled back and with shaky fingers, unbuttoned Liam’s jeans, shoved his pants down his thighs and wrapped his fingers around Liam’s already leaking cock.

“Shit,” Liam gasped as Louis wanked him, his grip firm around his length. Liam ran his fingers through Louis’ hair and tugged, making Louis groan. 

“That’s it Lou,” Liam said, encouraging him, “Just like that.”

“Did you like showing off for me Li?” Louis asked, his tone calm and the combination of his lips against his ear and his fingers around his shaft made Liam insane and all he could do was nod. 

“What is it that does it for you?” Louis continued, “Why were you so worked up?”

Louis had him by his cock and Liam really didn’t want to lose his dick, so he went for total honesty.

“The-the fact that people were watching,” he said.

“Watching _us_ or watching _you_?”

Liam’s mouth parted as Louis continued wanking him, his precome sliding down his length.

“Us,” Liam panted, his hands curved around Louis’ shoulders, “God-the idea of someone seeing _you_ getting me off like this…” 

Louis met his gaze and Liam lost it. He came all over Louis’ hand but that didn’t even register to him because he was watching Louis’ expression at his admission and wondered what Louis thought about him coming at the idea of someone seeing them like this. 

Louis wiped his hand on Liam’s shirt.

“Gee thanks,” Liam said flatly.

“You should be after what I just did for you.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Liam said, sliding his arm around Louis’ shoulders and kissing his temple.

“You can make it up to me later.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to,” Liam whispered in his ear and grinned in smug satisfaction when Louis did a full body shiver. 

*

They had two days off and Liam had no idea what to do. Well, he knew what he _should_ do, but he didn’t want to put his brain through that yet. Instead, he preoccupied himself with video games and the boys. They were trapped at their hotel and their security was constantly guarding the hallways.

“Right, pick your weapon guys. CoD or Fifa?” Niall asked.

“Either or,” Louis said and Liam agreed.

“You guys are no help whatsoever,” Niall mumbled.

“What about a movie,” Harry said around a mouthful of salad.

“Seriously Haz, why are you eating rabbit food?”

Harry turned to Zayn “It’s healthy Zee. You should try it some time.”

Zayn grimaced. “No thanks, I’ll pass.”

“Your funeral mate.” 

Liam joined Louis on the edge of Zayn’s bed. They hadn’t talked since Louis had gotten him off backstage, but Liam felt like they ought to, especially because of the things he had said at the time. He wasn’t regretting telling Louis though. He knew Louis wouldn’t tell anyone. Louis may be an arse ninety eight percent of the time, but he was loyal to the grave. Liam smiled to himself. Apart from the other boys, there was no one else Liam would trust more with something like this.

Louis seemed all too enthused with this unexplored side of Liam. He couldn’t help but wonder if Louis was with him on this but instantly pushed the idea away. _Louis_ was the one who dragged him down the corridor; _Louis_ was the one to shove his pants down. 

Louis seemed to be unaffected by this turn of developments in their complicated relationship and Liam glanced over at him, watching as Louis killed Niall and Zayn’s avatars by himself.

“I am the master!” Louis crowed and leapt onto the bed shouting and doing some terrible karate moves.

“Get down before you knock yourself out,” Liam chided. Liam yanked on his wrist and Louis crashed down onto him and almost kneed him in the balls.

“That was close,” Louis said, “Almost took out the Payne family jewels.”

“Yeah, and I happen to be pretty fond of my balls, so back off.”

Zayn was chasing after Niall and Harry on the screen and Louis swung his legs over Liam’s lap, his head buried in his neck.

“I’m pretty fond of your balls too Leemo,” he whispered close to Liam’s ear. Liam started coughing on absolutely nothing.

“You alright?” Harry asked.

“I’m fine,” Liam reassured. Louis slid his palm underneath his thigh and traced his fingers over Liam’s crotch. Louis’ legs were in the way, so no one could see what he was doing. Liam sucked in a breath and gripped Louis’ wrist in warning. 

Louis just smirked and continued rubbing his hand over Liam’s now interested cock and he swore he stopped breathing when Louis gripped him through his jeans. Liam wanted to touch Louis but he wasn’t ready to do it here, with the other boys sitting only a few feet away. 

Liam ignored the scolding his brain was giving him because he still needed to think about things, but his body disregarded his thoughts and he extricated himself from Louis and walked over to the door. He motioned his head towards Louis, praying he would understand the silent message to follow him.

“I’m headed down to the bus,” Liam announced to the room and both he and Louis winced. Liam had the subtlety of a freight train. 

“I think I’ll come with. We can write without these losers trying to jump all over us,” Louis said, neatly covering up Liam’s pathetic excuse to leave. The boys didn’t even acknowledge them and just continued to kill each other on the screen.

“Amateurs,” Louis scoffed, “They couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag.”

“We can’t all be champions like you Lou.”

Louis smiled at him and Liam blushed at his accidental rhyme.

“No, I guess they can’t.” 

Liam noticed that Louis excluded him from that category.

“Come on, let’s go,” Louis said. Even though it was Liam that wanted to get away this time, he realised that Louis spent an awful lot of time dragging him down hallways.

*

“Just…just let me…” Liam’s hands were shaking and he couldn’t seem to get his fingers to work. He fumbled with Louis’ zipper again and Louis huffed and moved away from him to shove his jeans and pants down swiftly. He opened the curtain of the bunk and threw them on the floor.

“Come on, hurry up,” Louis reprimanded, “We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Isn’t that the point of this?” Liam couldn’t help asking.

Louis met his gaze and dragged his finger over his bottom lip. “Yeah…”

There wasn’t much room but Liam managed to wiggle his way down and settle between Louis’ legs. Liam licked his way up Louis’ thighs, biting him along the way before wrapping his mouth around his cock. He bobbed his head a couple of times before drawing back to lick around the tip and Louis swore. Louis’ fingers were digging into his shoulders as Liam sank back down and picked up his pace. 

“Oh fuck,” Louis gasped and Liam watched as Louis’s thighs tensed underneath his hands and came in his mouth. Liam didn’t prepare of course and didn’t have any tissues nearby so he swallowed. He actually didn’t mind the taste and he removed his mouth with a popping sound and Louis traced his bottom lip with his finger. 

“Your mouth is obscene Payne,” he said, trying to catch his breath. Liam hid his grin in Louis’ thigh and just because he could, he opened his mouth and sucked. He heard Louis’ breath hitch as he grazed his teeth over the mark before collapsing half on top of Louis.

“That was great. B plus for you Li.”

“Only B plus?” Liam fake pouted and pulled his puppy dog eyes on Louis.

Louis groaned. “Don’t give me that look. You know what that does to me. It makes me act like a crazy person.”

Liam grinned and kissed the hollow of his throat. “You mean when you’re being nice to people?” 

“Touché.”

Liam was comfortable lying on Louis and he sighed when Louis raked his fingers over his head. Unfortunately or fortunately, Liam was Liam and needed to talk to him but Louis beat him to it.

“So what is this?”

“What’s what?”

“You know what. This type of stuff that gets you off. We’re not exactly in the best position you know, being in a highly photographed band, to be trying to have sex in public places.”

“Oh, well, um…” Liam was finding it hard to explain the attraction.

“It gets you worked up when you show off for me on stage right?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Cheeky. And you like it when we’re backstage. You know, some where we could be caught right?”

Liam blushed. “Yes.”

“And you would like it if someone saw _me_ doing this to you?”

“God, can we stop with the twenty-one questions?” Liam was embarrassed, but not because it was Louis asking the questions. 

“I just want to make sure I’m clear on what it is you’re asking for here.”

Liam buried his face in Louis’ chest. “I shouldn’t want anything from you Lou. You’re just out of a relationship. You’re still trying to figure out what you want.”

“Look at me Liam,” Louis said firmly.

“I want to do this stuff with you. I want to see how many times I can make you come on this bus. I want to see you squirming and trying to be quiet while we’re fucking just around the corner from where anyone could see us.”

Liam suddenly felt dizzy and light-headed. Louis laughed.

“Where’d you go just then? You went kind of cross-eyed.”

“It’s nothing,” Liam mumbled. Louis narrowed his eyes.

“I know you. You’re making a mental list of all the places you want to fuck.”

Liam snapped his head up. “How’d you know?”

Louis smirked. “Like I said, I know you.”

Liam pulled the curtain back to crawl out of the cramped space. “We better get dressed; the others will be here soon.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis muttered, clambering out into the harsh afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, “Just you wait Payne. I bet I can get at least two good ones out of you by midnight.”

Liam was looking forward to it.

*

It was around Denmark when Liam decided that Louis was torturing him. They had just finished the concert and they were on Bus One while Niall, Harry and Zayn decided to call it a night and climb aboard the sleeper bus. 

Liam was getting snacks from the small kitchen when Louis stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. 

“Seriously, you couldn’t wait Lou?”

“Have we met?”

Liam chuckled and turned around in Louis’ arms. 

“I still can’t believe you sucked me off in the bathroom earlier.”

Louis grinned. “I wanted to see how fast I could get you to come. I think it was a new record.” 

Liam certainly thought so. He had never come so fast in his life. It probably had something to do with Paddy looking for them. Liam closed his eyes, remembering Louis’ lips around his cock as he came down his throat, biting down hard on his clenched fist because he knew Paddy was standing right outside the door.

“I’ll never forget how your whole life flashed before your eyes,” Louis laughed. 

“There’s a difference between being turned on by the potential of being caught and actually _getting_ caught,” Liam tried to explain. 

Liam appreciated that Louis was being really understanding about this whole thing. He was really worried and nervous at the beginning; he thought that maybe something was wrong with him because he’d never experienced that rush of adrenaline at the thought that someone could see them. Sure, he had experienced that adrenaline rush that you get when you’re standing on top of a building but this feeling was entirely different. Whether it was in a closet, a bathroom or in the bunks, there was nothing else that he could focus on other than Louis’ hands on him, his mouth over his skin and the way that Louis would meet his gaze and every time, Liam would come. He didn’t care if someone might hear him come; he wanted the person to watch Louis’ face when he fell. 

It was the heightened awareness, the sense of urgency that had Liam craving more, craving more of _Louis_. It felt amazing doing something completely crazy and out of the ordinary. He didn’t feel any different physically but he did somewhat feel like his appearance was masking some of his personality. Not that it was a façade; there was just another side to him that no one saw with the exception of Louis. The responsible part of his brain would resurface after every time though. He would feel slightly embarrassed that he had done it; however, he never regretted any of it. He was torn between what they _should_ do and what his body was wanted. The elation Liam felt was incredible; he never felt more alive and he didn’t want to give it up. 

There were no words to describe how Louis was with him. It was by accident that Liam had discovered that he liked these feelings his body was experiencing and Louis had just accepted it with no judgement whatsoever. Thinking back on it now, Liam did find it a little strange that Louis had not seemed as surprised as he would have thought about the whole situation. 

“Yeah, I know,” Louis said, pulling Liam out of his reverie. 

Liam leaned down to kiss him and Louis sighed into his mouth. His lips parted and Liam deepened their kiss, his arms holding onto him tightly and Louis gasped when Liam lifted him up and sat him on the edge of the small table. 

“Here Li?”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet Lou,” Liam chuckled darkly as he stretched Louis’ shirt and sucked a bruise onto his collarbone.

“N-No, but…isn’t it kind of cheating? There’s no one around.”

“There’s still the driver,” Liam explained, his breath catching in his throat when Louis scraped his teeth across his chest.

“Ok point,” Louis said and pulled Liam’s tank off him. Liam slid his pants and sweats off his hips and stepped back between Louis’ legs.

“I think you’re forgetting something Lou,” Liam muttered, pulling on his drawstring.

“This is me being lazy.”

“Oh, so something new for you then.”

“Cheeky,” Louis replied, biting down on Liam’s nipple.

“Stand up then,” Liam ordered. 

Louis stood and Liam pushed his pants and sweats down his legs. He removed Louis’ tank and let it fall to the ground. 

“Well, what are you going to do with me now?” 

“Turn around and bend over,” Liam said. 

Louis complied and Liam retrieved the packet of lube he had stashed in his pocket. Liam smirked, remembering when he had discovered the individual packets in the pharmacy and he resisted the urge to buy all of them.

“What are you doing back there?”

“Relax Lou. Just prepping.”

Louis looked over his shoulder at him. “Are you going to fuck me?”

Liam shook his head. “Not unless you want me to. I mean, have you…um…” Liam suddenly felt shy for the first time since they’d started doing this.

Louis smiled softly. “I’ve done it a couple of times.”

“Oh. Ok. Well, if you want me to after this, then let me know.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “You’ll be the first. Have you done it?”

Liam blushed. “Um…a few times.”

“Good. Now that’s settled, will you get on with it? If you haven’t noticed I’m kind of in a compromising situation here.”

“Right.”

Liam smoothed his hands over Louis’ arse and spread his cheeks. He squeezed his bum with one hand while he ran his finger down along his crack and Louis made a small noise in the back of his throat. Liam dipped inside him and Louis braced his hands on the edge of the table.

Liam stretched him with his fingers slowly, wanting to draw out every whine and whimper out of Louis. He loved the sounds Louis made when he touched him. Liam pulled his fingers out and Louis looked over his shoulder and uttered the only word that Liam wanted to hear more than anything. 

“Please…” 

Liam retrieved the condom from his sweats; he didn’t know if Louis had wanted to fuck yet, but he always carried them with him, knowing that Louis could ask him during any of their stolen moments.

Liam rolled the condom on and slowly entered Louis from behind, his hands holding Louis’ hips in place. He shifted and Louis whined for more, so Liam pulled out to push in again, his hips flush to Louis’ arse. He fucked Louis as slowly as he could while the bus continued along the darkened road. 

Liam picked up his pace when Louis pushed up from the table and tilted his head to the side to brush his lips across his mouth, murmuring _‘faster…’_

Liam let out a sound he didn’t know he was capable of making, and suddenly the room was filled with the sound of their skin slapping together. He was totally overwhelmed by the feel of Louis’ smooth skin underneath his hands and the heat emanating off his body as he pushed Louis back down so he could flatten himself against his back.

“You feel so good Lou,” Liam whispered, his lips brushing over his ear.

 _“Christ,”_ Louis swore, “I’m…I’m gonna…” 

Liam grinded his hips forward and pushed Louis right over the edge. Even though Liam knew that watching Louis come would make him orgasm, he was still overwhelmed when he inevitably fell.

Liam went to pull back but Louis stopped him. “Stay for a minute. Please?”

There was something in Louis’ voice, something small and unfamiliar but Liam pushed it aside and lay across Louis’ back, blanketing him. 

“You alright Lou?”

“I’m fine.” 

Maybe it was just him but Liam swore Louis sounded a little distant even though he was still inside him.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to move. I’m all sweaty.”

Liam pulled out and threw the condom in the bin as Louis slowly stood up.

“Yum,” Louis said, raking his eyes over Liam standing naked in front of him, “In every sense of the word.”

Liam threw his tank at Louis’ face. “Shut up.”

It was after one when the buses finally stopped for gas and they joined the others on the sleeper bus. 

*

“This is the part of the show where we say thank you to our incredible band. So let’s give it up for Jon on keys,” Louis called out to the crowded stadium.

The audience screamed and Liam still couldn’t believe that this was their life. It would never truly sink in for him. Louis asked Niall to describe the concert in sixteen words and Niall just gave him a blank look and said “You guys are absolutely incredible, thank you so much.”

Liam laughed and Louis shuffled over to him. It had become sort of their call and response in that Liam would do anything and everything to get his attention and Louis would reward him with banter and affection. Ever since Denmark, it had become par for the course that Liam would dance around Louis, slap his arse and flash his nipples whenever he got the chance and his tanks became so stretched that he would need to buy new ones soon. 

It was almost on cue that Louis would meander over to Liam’s side of the stage and reciprocate, stealing his snapbacks, pinching his nipples and letting his hand linger around the curve of Liam’s waist. It worked Liam up so much that he could affect Louis this way, which in turn made him flush in front of thousands of screaming fans. He was finding it difficult to get through a single concert without sporting a semi the entire time and wanting to get down on his knees for Louis, right in front of the crowd. Forget the concert; Liam wanted to see how far he could get Louis’ cock down his throat.

Louis snatched his snapback and Liam beamed at him while he wore it for a split second before placing it back on his head backwards. Liam couldn’t help himself and slapped Louis’ arse and he danced his way over to Harry. He glanced over his shoulder and he thought he saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes before he started singing his solo. 

Liam made it up to him by leaning in close to his ear during Harry’s solo and telling him what he wanted to do to Louis later. Louis flushed a brilliant shade of red and bit his lip, trying to stop himself from smirking. 

Once they had finished the concert and were back at the hotel, Liam delivered on his promise and made Louis come before they collapsed in a sweaty heap. 

*

It was in France that Harry kidnapped them. 

Well, not so much kidnapped them but dragged all of them out, loudly declaring “We’re going out guys. Come on, we’re in a foreign country and we should be eating weird looking food. Let’s go soak in some culture boys.”

Zayn had grumbled, but still came out with them to some posh restaurant with a name that Liam couldn’t pronounce. Harry had managed to score a table towards the back, hidden away in a dark corner and Liam was grateful because he had a plan for dinner and he didn’t want any fans to be able to see them. 

The restaurant was relatively busy; the Cezanne paintings on the cream walls bringing a modern feel to the place and soft music was playing in the background. A waiter led them to their table and they all took their seats as Harry tried ordering wine in a truly horrible French accent. 

“Great, they’re gonna hate us,” Liam muttered. 

“Why?” Harry looked genuinely confused.

“Because that was offensive you git,” Niall explained, “Just sit there and look pretty.”

“You think I’m pretty Ni?” Harry said, batting his lashes and making kissy faces at him.

“Get your face away from my face,” Niall laughed, smothering Harry with his napkin. 

Zayn eventually managed to stop them from squabbling and they ordered their food. Liam had ordered a dish that Paul had assured him was fish.

The food came and Liam glanced around the restaurant. The sounds of dishes clanging and the low hum of chatter surrounded them. Niall and Harry were engrossed in their conversation about who knew more French words and Zayn was dubiously picking at his food while Paddy spoke to him. 

Liam’s heart was pounding as he slipped his hand under the table and over Louis’ thigh, squeezing him in warning. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Louis still, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smirk. Louis relaxed his legs, his thighs spreading so Liam could slide his hand over his crotch. 

Liam nervously bit his lip. This was by far the closest they’d been to other people but Liam’s blood was warming his skin and he…just…he really wanted to do this. 

Liam palmed Louis through his jeans and he watched as Louis caught his eye and smiled, pushing his hips forward slightly, urging him on. Liam thought he could hear the teeth of Louis’ zipper separating over the rushing sound in his ears but no one said anything. In fact no one was really paying attention to them as they continued eating. 

Liam pulled Louis’s cock out of his pants and slid his hand along his length and Louis bit his lip, trying to suppress a groan. Louis swelled in his hand and Liam started wanking him, speeding his hand up yet attempting to keep the top half of his arm as still as possible, so as to not attract attention.

Liam’s heart pounded in excitement at what they were doing. He couldn’t get enough of being exposed; having Louis’ pleasure visible to anyone watching-especially to him. Liam was hard and straining against his jeans but he ignored it in favour of sweeping his thumb across the tip of Louis’ cock. 

Louis was trying to get himself under control. He was gripping the edge of the table, using just his fork to eat his meal and he was biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying out loud. His eyes were dark and his skin flushed and he leaned towards Liam to bury his face in his neck.

“So close…” Louis whispered, his hot breath making Liam want to stick his hand down his own pants. Liam nosed at his jaw, coaxing Louis to move his head so he could press his mouth below his ear.

“God I just wanna spread you on this table and have _you_ for dinner,” Liam said and Louis swelled in his hand again and came, biting down on Liam’s shoulder to muffle his groans.

Liam removed his hand and his conscious came back to play, ranging from mild horror to elation at what he had just done. He honestly couldn’t believe he just did that in front of his band mates and they were none the wiser. 

Liam went back to eating his dinner and Louis excused himself, no doubt to go and clean himself up. Liam wanted to follow him and fuck him against the bathroom sink. What the hell was _wrong_ with him? Why was he acting like this? He had never been like this with Sophia. Maybe he was having a reaction to the fish? Liam’s mind swirled with the possibilities. He was torn because he really wanted to get to the bottom of this but that would mean having to sit himself down and think; _really_ think about what it was that he was doing with Louis.

Once they had finished dinner and were back at the hotel, Liam excused himself and slumped down on his bed, alone at last. 

Liam knew he was in too deep. How on Earth did he convince himself that this was a good idea? Could he really do this and hide the depth of his feelings from Louis forever? He told himself that he wasn’t going to let his emotions get the better of him. Besides, Louis was still fragile and trying to get over his previous relationship. He wanted to be a good friend and give him time to figure out if this was what he really wanted. Liam didn’t want to mess everything up by telling him how he felt. Liam didn’t know what he would say anyway because he still wasn’t sure how he truly felt about Louis.

The thing is Liam could see how much Louis was into this whole new side of him. Liam could feel it in how Louis’ fingers would tighten around his shaft and his kisses deepened, enthusiastic and frenzied. It only spurred Liam on further, knowing Louis was turned on by it too. It was a little scary, knowing that there was the very real possibility that they will eventually get caught and Liam shivered _photographed_ , but exciting at the same time. Because it was _Louis_ doing these things with him. Liam wanted someone to see _Louis_ come because of him. Liam loved it when Louis would completely lose it underneath him. Liam was afraid that he had started something that he didn’t think he’d be able to stop. 

He groaned, feeling drained and emotionally exhausted. They had promo commitments in the next couple of weeks and he needed to focus. He had a shower and crawled into bed, falling asleep instantly.

*

“So tell us, how are you finding Amsterdam?”

Liam lounged in his chair, not wanting to be the one to answer all the questions for once. Luckily, Niall was answering most of them and Liam was able to relax.

“Well, we haven’t been here long,” Niall chuckled, “…but we look forward to seeing the sights.” 

“…and…aah…you’ll be trying out our…um…famous…uh how you say…culture?” The interviewer asked nervously in his best English, his eyes flashing to Paul standing in the corner.

“More like infamous culture,” Niall responded, laughing.

“Well, we’ve been recording after the concerts so it’s pretty late nights. We’re more likely to stay in and put on a movie,” Liam said, hoping the DJ would take the bait. Louis was sitting next to him and he was finding it hard to concentrate. His fingers twitched with the overwhelming urge to touch him but he refrained and curled his hands into fists on his thighs. It was exponentially harder to sit near him and not touch, the feeling of _he’s right there_ taunting him. 

“Your concerts are quite a show. How do you prepare for something like that?” 

Liam breathed a sigh of relief and let Harry answer. He was going on about his food and exercise and Liam had already heard this all of this before, wondering if the guy was going to ask any questions they hadn’t heard before. He didn’t. 

When they were finished at the radio station, Paul herded them out and into the van. They had a couple more radio interviews before they went to sound check. The concert was amazing as usual, the massive crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. 

Liam couldn’t help but notice that Louis wasn’t hanging off him as much. He was still his annoying self though. He made a grab for Liam’s snapback during Little White Lies but he didn’t persist like he usually did when Liam ducked away from him. 

Liam was aware that he didn’t exactly hang around Louis either. He danced with Niall, sang right in Harry’s face and giggled with Zayn, whispering about hanging out later and pointing out the more filthy signs to him. 

At one point, Liam saw Louis watching him with Zayn, a small frown on his face as he twisted his microphone in his hands. He seemed like he didn’t really know what to do with himself. Liam noticed something flash across his face and was Liam imagining things or did he look slightly angry?

Liam shook his head and told himself that he was being silly and focused on the crowd, smiling and waving to the girls near the barriers, their screams almost deafening. 

*

“Ok, what’s going on with you two?” Zayn asked, trailing in after Liam into his room. Liam sighed, knowing if he asked “Who?” Zayn would slap him. It couldn’t hurt to try and feign a bit of ignorance.

“What are you talking about?”

“You and Louis obviously. Clearly something’s happened between you guys, Louis was hovering constantly as if you were a ferocious bear or something. It looked like he didn’t know whether to come closer or back off.”

“Grrrr,” Liam growled, baring his teeth.

Zayn gave him a deadpanned look. “I’m not kidding Li. Something was off. So come on, spill.”

“I don’t really know myself,” Liam admitted. He joined Zayn on the edge of the bed. He loved Zayn but he wasn’t about to spill his guts about everything that was going on between him and Louis. 

Zayn’s eyes suddenly were wide.

“You didn’t tell him these, um, _things_ , you’ve been telling me have you?”

“No. Why on Earth would I do that?”

Zayn shook his head at him, amused. “Maybe because there’s a part of you that you know, likes him?”

Liam looked down at his hands. “I’m not going to do that Zee. He’s still heartbroken from El. I would never do that to him, it’s not fair. To either of us.”

Zayn sighed. “Look, mate, I’ve spoken to Lou. He’s told me he’s fine.”

“I don’t know if I can believe that,” Liam admitted.

“Well, I would. You trust him, so take his word. He’s okay.”

“I can’t but thanks for trying.”

“It was worth a shot. Come on, let’s play. I’ll even let you win.”

Liam grinned. “ _Let_ me win?”

Zayn just huffed.

*

“Good evening Turin! Are you ready to have a good time?” 

Harry was talking to the stadium as Liam and the boys flittered about the stage. Liam immediately went stage left with Niall while Louis went stage right with Zayn following him. Liam’s shoulders sagged slightly in disappointment but he got it together and waved to the crowd. 

They sang their way through the setlist and it was around the time that they were singing Strong when Louis shuffled over to Liam and draped his arm around his waist. Liam dropped his hands from his tank and leaned into his side, completely unaware that he had been twisting his tank furiously. Louis suddenly stepped back and bared his bicep and Liam smiled, mirroring his actions, and just like that, things were back to the way they were before that damn radio interview.

Louis couldn’t keep his hands to himself after that. He fake punched Liam and twisted his nipples and Liam laughed, his energy slowing being released under Louis’ hands. Liam lost count of how many times he flashed Louis his nipples. 

By the end of the concert, Louis was smiling and laughing at Niall giving Harry a piggy back to the dressing room. Louis’ hand swept over the swell of his bum and Liam shivered, the familiar touch igniting his veins. Louis had done that several times during Little White Lies and he kept staring at him and Liam had to try and steady his breathing at the hungry look in his eyes. 

Without saying a word, Louis suddenly grabbed for Liam’s wrist and yanked him down the corridor. His stomach twisted in anticipation and his pulse quickened at the familiar rush of adrenaline, his fingers shaking as he couldn’t wait to touch Louis. It had been far too long since he’d touched him and he was hard in an instant. 

Louis stopped behind some sound equipment, grabbed the front of Liam’s tank and smashed their mouths together. Liam’s hands found their way into Louis’ hair and tugged hard, forcing his head back so he could graze his teeth over his Adam’s apple.

“Oh _fuck_ …” Louis gasped as Liam sucked a bruise into his skin, not caring that everyone was going to be able to see it. 

Louis was whimpering and clutching at the hem of his tank and in one swift movement Louis pulled it up over his head. He shoved Liam’s jeans and pants down and Liam kicked out of them as he fumbled with Louis’ zipper, trying to get his hands to work so he could push Louis’ clothes out of the way. He finally got his hands on his bare skin and Liam was an idiot to think he could stay away from Louis. 

Liam wanted his hands on every inch of him at once. He gripped Louis’ hips and pulled him flush to his body so he could kiss him again, his hands squeezing at his arse. He wrapped his hand around Louis’ dick and stroked up his length, making Louis shudder. Louis ran his tongue across his collarbone, along his neck and finally to his jaw as Liam moved his hand faster, spreading the precome sliding down his cock. 

“Fuck me,” Louis whispered and Liam didn’t think he could take his hands off Louis long enough to get the lube out of his jeans pocket.

“Come on love,” Louis said and Liam resolutely ignored his words as he retrieved the condom.

Liam slicked his fingers as fast as he could and pushed inside Louis, making him moan and dig his fingernails into Liam’s biceps. He stretched him until Louis was whining ‘come _on…_ ’ and his chest was heaving. Liam removed his fingers, rolled the condom down his cock and lifted him so Louis could wrap his legs around his waist. He slowly entered Louis and pressed him back into the wall, blanketing him with his body and _Christ_ , Liam realised. He would never get enough of this. Would not get enough of _Louis_. 

Liam rolled his hips and began moving in and out of Louis, his tongue trailing over the hollow of his throat. Louis’ legs tightened around his waist, pulling him in deeper and Liam let out a high-pitched whine as Louis gripped his face between his hands and brushed his mouth over Liam’s. 

Liam sucked at his bottom lip as he thrusted into him and Louis didn’t even notice or seem to care that his back was going to be sore from rubbing against the wall. Liam was lost to everything but Louis as he fucked him, their sweat slicked skin slapping together and his hands gripping at Louis’ thighs. 

“Don’t stop,” Louis whimpered against his mouth.

“I don’t think I could even if I tried,” Liam answered honestly.

“Fuck…that’s it…” Louis moaned as he arched his back beneath him and tilted his head so Liam could pepper kisses along the side of his face and neck.

Louis’ fringe was damp with sweat and his face was flushed and wow he really looked beautiful and Liam couldn’t help but reach up and tuck his hair behind his ear, the gentle touch in stark contrast to the harsh movement of his hips. He pulled Louis tightly to his chest, watching Louis’ face and getting lost in the feeling of his hands clutching at his back and Liam could feel Louis was close. 

“Come for me Lou,” he whispered.

Louis groaned and tightened around him, coming untouched. When Liam saw Louis’ expression during his orgasm, he completely lost it and he swore he saw stars as he came. 

Liam went to move away but Louis grabbed him around his neck, stopping him.

“Just…please stay, just for a minute,” Louis pleaded and Liam’s heart clenched at the tone in his voice. 

“Ok,” he said, pulling Louis away from the wall and holding onto him. Louis’ body was wrapped around him and he didn’t let go until he insisted that they better get back to the others. 

Louis somewhat reluctantly detached himself from Liam and they got dressed in silence. They checked to make sure the coast was clear and hurried back to the others so they could drive to the hotel. 

*

“Thank you Barcelona!” Niall yelled to the screaming fans.

“We cannot thank you enough for coming out to watch us tonight!” Niall continued and Liam forced a small smile and slung his arm around Harry.

“Are you alright?” Harry whispered to him.

“I’m fine,” Liam lied. 

“No you’re not. You look awful.”

“Gee thanks. I just didn’t get a good night’s sleep, that’s all.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Harry said and skipped off to annoy Zayn. 

The truth was Liam was frustrated. Frustrated with himself and the whole situation. This thing between Louis and him was supposed to be this one wild moment, not this confusing roller coaster of feelings. He wanted to talk to Louis but he had no idea what he would even say to him. He thought he was being a good friend by giving Louis what he wanted but now Louis was ignoring him entirely. He didn’t understand what had happened between Turin and now, but Louis would barely look at him and whenever Liam tried talking to him he just looked like he was in pain. 

He was unsure as to where he stood with Louis anymore. The lines had become blurred and he was losing his grip on the very few boundaries that they had left. 

*

The first concert in Madrid was even more depressing than the one in Barcelona. Louis stuck by Niall’s side all night and Liam resorted to using his puppy face to try and coax him over to where he sat on the platform. He watched as Louis stiffened, took two steps towards him and then stopped, hovering behind Zayn.

Liam felt like his chest had collapsed because Louis hadn’t been this uncertain around him since the x-factor days. Harry saw Liam’s expression, looked to Louis and immediately danced over to Liam.

“It’ll be ok Li,” Harry said, wrapping his arms around him.

“I don’t know how.”

“We’ll figure out something.”

Liam didn’t pay attention to Harry’s words until Harry had sidled up to Zayn in the middle of the stage. What had Harry meant by _we?_

*

Liam went to see Zayn that night.

Zayn was curled up in his bed, lazily watching television when Liam walked in and got under the covers before saying a word.

“Hey Zee,” He said softly.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I…I…can I just…have a cuddle?”

“Sure.”

Zayn muted the television and rolled over to open his arms. Liam scooted over to him and smushed his face into his chest.

“This actually isn’t why I came here,” Liam whispered into his collarbone.

“I know,” Zayn said, his hand soothing on Liam’s back.

“He just won’t talk to me,” Liam whined.

“What about?”

“Well, for starters, what happened with El,” Liam began, “I tried to talk to him a couple of times but he refuses to discuss it. It’s like he just wants to forget everything.”

“Maybe he does.”

“Would you want to if you were in his position?”

“I don’t know babe. Maybe.”

This thing with Louis was insane, but Liam liked it. A lot. It felt like he was being consumed by the thought of it; the mere idea of him and Louis. He hadn’t been able to think about anything else for the past couple of months. 

Maybe it was because he felt like he didn’t have to worry about anything when he was with Louis; he felt safe with him. Louis had never made it seem weird or wrong that Liam like the idea of people catching them together. It was as if he loved it just as much as Liam did.

Now Louis was keeping him at an arm’s length and it was starting to _hurt_. It was as if someone was cracking away at the layers of his heart.

Liam couldn’t pretend that he didn’t have feelings for Louis for much longer. Liam had been constantly struggling with trying to hide them from him ever since this thing between them began.

He wanted nothing more than to be with him. 

“Are you asleep?”

“No.”

“Maybe Louis’ doing the same thing as you and not knowing how to talk to you.”

“He’s never had a problem with coming to me beforehand.”

“Well, this seems kinda different Li.”

“You can say that again. What do I do?” Liam asked, looking up at Zayn forlornly.

Zayn bit his lip. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t tell you what to do Li. Just-promise me you’ll talk to him ok?”

Liam sighed. “I promise.”

Zayn turned out the light and Liam had another sleepless night. 

*

Liam never realised just how much he could miss Louis until they had stopped talking. It felt like he had lost Louis even though he had never really been his to begin with. Liam had promised Zayn that he would talk to him, but every time he thought about it, a sense of dread washed over him at the fear of Louis not reciprocating his feelings. 

Liam sighed and cuddled close to Zayn as they watched TV in his hotel room. He had to talk to Louis.

Suddenly Harry walked in and plonked himself on top of Liam. 

“Get off me you lump,” he groaned.

“But I want cuddles,” Harry whined, rubbing his cheek over Liam’s head.

“Fine.”

Liam shifted and made room for him on the couch.

“Where’s Niall and Lou?”

Harry bit his lip as he sort of mumbled “Think they’ve got out shopping…”

“Oh.”

“Hey, um, Li? Could…could I talk to you for a sec?”

“What about?” 

Harry seemed nervous as he replied. “Oh, um…I just wanted to talk about the song I’m working on. Could you take a look at my lyrics?”

“Sure.”

“It’s ah…they’re on the bus,” Harry said as he stood up and dragged Liam to his feet. Harry seemed relieved at his answer and he was hauling Liam by his wrist down the hallway to the lift.

“Are you alright Harry? You seem a little nuts this morning.”

“I’m fine…I’m fine.”

“I don’t know if you’re trying to convince me or yourself more.”

Harry punched his arm. “Shut up.”

They walked out of the lift and turned around the corner, slipping through a staff only door that was at the back of the hotel. The bus was only a few feet away and Liam opened the door while Harry just stood there, looking around them, presumably for any fans that might have found their way back here.

“You coming?” 

“Now Niall!” Harry yelled and suddenly the bus door closed in Liam’s face.

“What the?” 

“What’s going on?” Louis’ voice came from behind him. Great. Just great. 

“I think they’ve locked us in.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Thank you for pointing out the obvious. I hate them.”

“No you don’t.”

“Ok, no I don’t. But they’re still idiots.”

“So do you know why they’ve done this?”

Louis’ mouth quirked up in a small smile and Liam felt his limbs become jelly because Louis had not looked at him like that in a while. 

“I don’t think they’re going to be letting us go until we talk Liam,” Louis said slowly.

“Oh, um right.” Now it was Liam’s turn to be nervous. 

“Step into my office,” Louis said, turning on his heels. Liam followed him into the small kitchen and he groaned. He could not talk to Louis here, of all places. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate with the images swirling through his mind.

Liam was trapped. He couldn’t sit here in the kitchen and he couldn’t go in the back room either because he certainly would lose it if he had to sit on a bed and talk to Louis. He didn’t think he’d be able to keep his hands to himself. 

Liam wrung his hands and awkwardly sat on one of the couches between the bunks and the back room. This was fine, he could do this here.

“So, um…you go first,” Liam said.

“Ok.”

Louis glanced out the window before he spoke. “Li, I think I may have given you the wrong impression when we started-well-you know…” he trailed off.

Liam’s heart sank. “I get it. You didn’t know how to get over El and I was there…”

Louis’ eyes went wide. “No, that’s not it at all! The truth is I had been over El for a while. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Oh…”

Louis smiled at him. “Zayn told me you spoke to him…”

“Why would he do that?” Liam said.

“He’s just looking out for you Li. Anyways, he said you spoke to him and he told me that you thought I was still pining for El but that’s not the case at all.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Zayn told you I was fine, why didn’t you listen to him?”

“I don’t know.”

Louis sighed, running his hands through his hair. Liam’s fingers twitched as he wanted to be the one to do that for him. It was now that Liam realised that he had always wanted Louis he just didn’t know it, and after two years there was still a part of him that had eventually been hoping for more. 

“Sometimes these things just don’t work out. Of course I wasn’t happy at times, but that’s part of a relationship. But the truth is I, um, I was sort of hung up on you.”

Liam swore he stopped breathing. “You-you were?”

“Yeah, but you were with Sophia, so I stayed with El. Don’t get me wrong, I loved her. But there’s a difference between loving someone and being _in_ love with someone. Which reminds me, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Could you tell me what happened between you and Sophia?”

Liam took a deep breath. He could do this. He owed Louis the truth.

“She said she couldn’t be with someone who was clearly in love with someone else.”

“I-okay then,” Louis said, ducking his head away but Liam saw his smile.

“Why didn’t you say anything Lou? The whole time we were-”

“Because I didn’t want to upset you if it was only sex you were after.”

“When have I ever just wanted sex with anyone?”

“Ok point. But I really didn’t know how to tell you. Sorry about being a dick to you for the past couple of days.”

It was then that everything clicked into place in Liam’s brain. Louis had been obviously guarding his own heart by keeping his emotions compartmentalised. It had been a form of self-preservation for Louis but to Liam it had felt like a punch to the gut.

“You were never a rebound Li. I thought this thing that we were doing was what you wanted.”

“It was, but not in the way I hoped. I thought you were trying to distance yourself.”

“It’s about four years too late for that,” Louis chuckled.

Liam couldn’t help but blush.

“See that right there, is why I did this with you. There was no way in hell that I could say no to you.”

Liam was full on beaming as he took Louis’ hand in his. 

“Falling in love with you was really fucking easy,” Louis said. Liam’s heart was pounding so hard in his chest he thought it was about to burst and he couldn’t stop smiling.

“I want to be with you Lou. I always have. I love who I am with you.”

“Yeah, a bloody horny exhibitionist,” Louis said. 

Liam slumped further into the couch. “So, what are we boyfriends now or something?”

“I guess you’ll do for a boyfriend. Personally, I think I could do better…”

Liam pinched Louis’ nipple and Louis did a full body shudder. Interesting.

“So do you think they’re listening in on us?”

Louis gave him a blank look. “Come on, this is Harry we are talking about.”

Louis pushed up onto his knees and pressed his ear to the window. Liam sat up, straining to listen.

“What if they fuck in there?” Niall’s voice floated through.

“I may not have thought this through…”

“You think Haz?” Zayn drawled.

Liam smiled at Louis and he could see Louis twisting his mouth to stop himself from grinning. Liam couldn’t help himself and tackled Louis onto the couch, pinning his wrists above his head. 

“Now there’s an idea. We haven’t fucked on this couch yet.”

Louis tilted his head up and kissed him thoroughly.

“Don’t you want to fuck in a bed at least once?”

“I dunno. You know I like to be creative,” Liam said into Louis’ neck.

“That you do,” Louis sighed.

Liam let go of him and sat up abruptly. “Come on, we better go put them out of their misery.”

“I don’t want to,” Louis grumbled.

“I’ll make it up to you later?”

“Sold,” Louis said, standing up and marching towards the door with Liam following closely behind him. 

The door hissed open and Liam groaned because he could’ve pressed the latch on the inside to get out. But then, he would still be miserable and not have Louis as his boyfriend, so this was a much better option.

“I don’t know what you were thinking Haz but it doesn’t matter because this numpty here is my boyfriend,” Louis said. 

“Hey!” Liam exclaimed at the same time Zayn scoffed “We know.”

“We didn’t know!”

“You’re all a bunch of perverts,” Louis muttered.

“Well, now you know Li. Come on, we need to get a move on,” Niall said. 

Liam slung his arm around Louis’ waist and kissed his cheek and Louis playfully bit at his nose.

“They’ll just end up fucking the whole trip,” Harry whined.

“Well maybe you should have thought of that beforehand,” Zayn quipped.

Harry pouted. “It worked in _Failure to Launch_.”

“Get packed and on the bus you lunatics, we’ve got a show to get to,” Louis said, grinning at Liam and Liam had never wanted Louis more. He knew he’d do almost anything to spend the rest of his life making Louis happy. He knew that being right here, with Louis and his boys was what he wanted more than anything.


End file.
